Surviving Hotel Quarantine
As I am writing this blog article it is day 9 of 14 in hotel quarantine in the city of Perth, Australia. I landed in quarantine after a flight from Bali where I have been living for the past year.
I have had a few friends from Bali experience hotel quarantine in other countries and states and have to say I landed with a pretty nasty hotel quarantine. My friends had fresh air, outside areas they could use, and were able to go off and exercise for a specified amount of time. In comparison, I have been locked up in a small, dark room with no fresh air. I am not even able to venture outside my door into the hotel corridor.
When I first arrived in the small dark room, I would call home for the next 2 weeks, I had a small panic attack, one of my worst fears had come true: I was locked in a small room with no fresh air and for weeks! Side note: I am a very active, healthy, and social person. My lifestyle is centered around the outdoors, I love nature, fresh air, and moving my bod!
Friends worriedly asked me if I was going to be ok; you see I’m not much of a Netflix and chill girl, I’m more of a let’s hit the beach or go for a run kinda girl.
After I was hit with the realisation that I was about to live out one of my fears, I cried for most of the evening afraid that I wouldn’t be able to do this. Terrified it might make me go crazy, and anxious my health would take a huge hit.
After a night’s sleep, I woke up and wondered if I could see this situation in a different way. Could it be possible to make this experience work for me rather than against me? If I surrendered to this experience rather than fight against it, is it possible I could see this as an opportunity to grow, to become stronger? Could I use this time to go deeper, rest, and also get a lot of stuff done? These thoughts felt so much better than the negative and fearful thoughts from the night before.
My mind, however, still carried residue of those negative thoughts. I knew I needed to interrupt this spiral if I were to use this experience to my advantage, so I did what I normally do when I find it challenging to break negative thought patterns, I made a list of all the things I am grateful for, some of these included: the bed feels like a cloud to sleep on, the staff are lovely and compassionate, no mosquitos are biting me while I’m asleep (a constant issue I had in Bali!), I’m alive, well and safe, I can stay connected to family and friends, I have plenty of time to do things I wouldn’t normally have the time to do.
This exercise shifted my mindset into a positive frame of mind which then enabled me to think about what I wanted to get out of this unique situation. I didn’t want this experience to break me, I wanted to show myself that I can do this.
What also helped my state of mind was reminding myself of all the times I have been confronted with one of my worst fears and how I not only survived the experience but I also managed to thrive. I love that saying, ‘Blessings are on the other side of adversities.’
I journal regularly which is something I recommend you do in quarantine. Document all of your feelings, realisations, thoughts, and epiphanies. This time of isolation with little distractions (if you’re not binge-watching movies) will allow your suppressed emotions to come to the surface. Your subconscious mind which houses your unconscious stories, programs, and beliefs will be easier to hear without all the distractions of modern life.
So, I journaled my thoughts, fears, feelings. I also wrote a list of all the things I wanted to achieve during this time. Some of those things included: creating a new vision board for this new chapter of my life, moving from Bali to Gold Coast. I wanted to create a heap of new content for my business, read books, sort through admin I have been putting off, and carve out plenty of time for self-reflection before entering into the new Age of Aquarius.
I then wrote a daily routine of the things I would do in my ‘normal’ life and wanted to ensure I continued doing them in this bizarre reality. This included: moving, meditation, work/creating, connecting with loved ones, taking a shower, pleasure/pamper, writing, and other activities like breathwork, and tapping.
The first five days went pretty well, I got a lot done and felt ok. However, on about day 5 the anger started building inside of me and I suddenly felt rage for the injustice of this situation. How could the Western Australian health department be so villainous?! I’m a health professional and I know that the basic wellness needs for humans are fresh air and sunlight! Not to mention where is the humanity in all of this. The nurses and wellbeing department who kept checking in to see if I was ok couldn’t have agreed more. They too did not understand why quarantine conditions were so harsh; especially in comparison to other countries and states which grant you fresh air and outdoor movement.
Question: What is the best way to make a healthy person unwell? Answer: Stick them in a small, dark, airless room for a few weeks! Way to go WA health department!
Anger stirred within me each time I looked to the building across from my room, mostly vacant with balconies galore! I was angry that others were making decisions on behalf of me affecting something that means the world to me, my health and wellbeing!
Side note: I'm all for quarantining if you have come from a place where there is a virus that is life-threatening to others. This is not a question of that. People can quarantine with fresh air and space to move without putting others' lives at risk.
The anger lasted 2 days. Once I allowed myself to feel this anger, frustration, injustice, I encouraged the emotions to move through me by exercising, dancing, crying, and journaling.
Every experience we are given in life is an opportunity to grow, get to know ourselves more intimately, and see what we’re truly capable of, and hotel quarantine was no exception.
By being still, meditating, and journaling I have received some amazing epiphanies about beliefs I’d be holding onto which aren't in alignment with the woman I have become and patterns that were pinching me off from receiving the abundance that is waiting for me.
I'd also like to highlight the importance of drinking loads of clean and filtered water especially if you are not receiving fresh air. A lack of fresh air causes fatigue, slow mental activity, digestion issues, lowered immunity, mood disorders like anxiety and depression, skin issues, and plenty more adverse effects. The oxygen from fresh air is needed for our blood to deliver nutrients to the organs in our body.
Water can help improve oxygen levels as it contains oxygen. It is super important to drink more water than you normally would to ensure you stay hydrated so your blood can effectively deliver nutrients and oxygen to your body, especially in the case of not having fresh air.
Here is a checklist to give you the best chance of surviving hotel quarantine. Hope you find it helpful!
Surviving Hotel Quarantine Checklist
Mindset. Make the decision early on that you want to experience this as an opportunity to grow. Try to be as present as possible witnessing the emotions that surface. Instead of distracting yourself from these uncomfortable feelings, sit with them. I found journaling helpful to get to the core of these emotions, which have been there long before this quarantine experience.
Normal routine. I still get up and go to sleep at the same time each day. I take a shower, work during the day, exercise, meditate, etc.
Move! I am currently in the smallest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in, however, I move my bod every day. I have created my own workouts as well as found some great ones on YouTube. I like to mix it up to keep things interesting, so I’ve been doing a mix of HITT, Pilates barre, and yoga. Moving is not only fab for your bod but it stimulates feel-good endorphins helping to kick quarantine blues.
Stay connected! Stay connected with friends and family, there are so many different communication channels. Hearing the voice of someone you love is medicine to the heart when you’re in iso.
Keep on loving you! Do this whichever way feels good to you. For me, I love to pamper and self-pleasure. I’ve been doing face masks, body scrubs, massaging and moisturising my body.
Drink loads of filtered (if possible) water!
Eat as well as you can by avoiding consuming too much sugar, fried foods, and drinking alcohol. Most, if not all, hotels now allow you to order things from outside. Also, you don’t have to eat everything you are given. Avoid overeating for something to do.
Avoid anything that makes you feel anxious or depressed. Avoid watching Netflix all day.
Think about what you want to create in your life. We are powerful beings that have been boxed into a matrix that tries to constantly disempower us. It doesn’t matter whether you are in a shoebox of a hotel room or on a tropical island, you can create your dream life anytime anywhere. Try to feel INSPIRED by the disparity between where you are and where you want to be rather than discouraged.
Use this time to get your shit together. Cross off those admin tasks once and for all!
Support your immune system, especially with nutrients such as vitamin C, D, and zinc. I’m a big believer in food as medicine but I wouldn’t class most of the food I’ve been given in quarantine as medicine. It is certainly not the worst food, however, mostly it lacks enough nutrition. I would suggest taking supplements with you. I’ve got zinc, B complex, vitamin C, and probiotics. I would have bought vitamin D but couldn’t get it in Bali before I left. I’d also suggest powered greens like spirulina and moringa.